Monday, November 14, 2005

What Monty Python Sketch Character Are You?

I must admit, this WOULD be my dream job!!!!

You are the Abuse Clerk! You dish out verbal (and
some physical!) abuse all day long...as long as
the customer keeps payin’! Aaah...such
satisfying work!


What Monty Python Sketch Character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Not surprisingly, one of my favorite MP quotes, which I use quite often is, “I came here for an argument!”

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

Why Be Born Again When You Can Just Grow Up?

While wandering the web I came across this interesting post, with links to recent studies and data, posing the question:  Is Christian Morality Harmonious?

Can there be a harmonious Christian society? Even the United States can hardly be called harmonious, at least compared to the average. There is a certain level of disharmony to be expected, by virtue of human nature. So the question becomes - does Christianity improve on this, or regress ? Christians would say the former, but the data shows the latter.

I know I’ve ranted about my take on Francois’ next bits… like here

Now let’s look at the issue from the perspective of moral development. As I’ve proven before, Christianity is an order-based morality - a morality adapted for babies and little children - imposed on adults. So you necessarily have a tension there. What you get, is a society full of repressed children, grown adults who hoot and holler at sexuality and bodily functions as if they were schoolchildren, like a lot of Americans. People who are morally retarded in this fashion cannot truly appreciate the finer things of life. This tension results in the fight against alternative lifestyles, alternative worldviews, censorship, and the breakdown of responsibility and civility (for example, people dealing with each other by lawsuits and public recrimination).

What’s more, such moral retards often pose a DANGER to themselves and to the rest of us due to their ignorance and/or shame about their own bodies.  The pervasiveness of this attitude that everything between your navel and your knees is something secret and shameful often makes it quite difficult for many people with conditions like Crohn’s Disease to seek treatment until they’re in rather dire straits.  After all, one’s bowel habits or butt pains aren’t to be discussed… that’s dirty! 

The second tension is between order-based morality and natural morality. As adults, Christians still have the brain development, the instincts, the desires that all adults have. But on the other hand, their order-based morality directly contradicts all of these elements, in fact attacks these elements as being of “the world”, “anti-Christian”.and “sinful”. So we end up with a situation where people are conflicted and feel tremendous guilt about their own mind and their own actions. This is not the recipe for a healthy society, but rather the recipe for an oppressive society. We see the results of this tension in high teen pregnancy, high rates of adultery and divorce, high rates of obesity and preponderence of violent crimes born out of insecurity and frustration.

And I wonder how many of today’s “good Christians” caught something nasty during their coked-up days in the 80s or 90s before they got hooked on Jesus, and think they’re safe now because their naughty bits haven’t seen the light of day (never mind any thorough self- or outside exams) for such a long, long time… their shameful behavior is forgiven, being from their “old” life and all… until they give it to their new spouse?

How the hell are we supposed to not be “of the world” when this is where we friggin’ LIVE?  Disconnecting from reality is NOT the way to go… educating people to deal with today’s realities IS.  That includes the children—because otherwise they’ll be freakin’ children FOREVER.  We all have to grow up, which really sucks ass most of the time.

The third moral tension is between Christianity in general and Western civilization. This civilization of ours, regardless of its many faults, was founded on the tearing-down of authority, on the progress brought about by reason and science, on trade and material progress, on the freedom of being (through “human rights"), belief and lifestyle. Although we may have strayed from these ideals in the past century, we can still identify living Western values, such as material gain, romantic love and sexuality, equality, tolerance and respect, the importance of life – as well as our most noble and venerable institutions – the discovery and application of scientific principles, peaceful trading and commercialism, as well as acting and being judged based on one’s values.

[all emphasis mine]

We’ve been straying farther from those ideals in the past 25 years than I’m comfortable with, and it’s no coincidence that in that same 25 years the fundie Christians have been finding more and more devious ways to subject all Americans to their order-based morality with the support of government.  Why wouldn’t the sort of people who make up our government be on board with that?  What could be better than ruling over a nation of children… ignorant, fearful and easily led?  Big Brother, Heavenly Father… someone to save them from the demons and monsters… it’s all good.

We rational people, the actual grown-ups, know who the real monsters are.  They are those who warp children’s minds with tales of vengeful gods, heavenly rewards; with myths and lies about sex, drugs, people unlike themeselves in whatever way and the realities of everyday life in our own country and the world over.  They are those who aim to create a world FULL of children by limiting what we learn, know and speak of to those things appropriate only for children.

Children who giggle and snicker and blush when discussing anything that happens below the waist.